Flow bean



FIG.

sml

C- A. LANGsTAFF FLow BEAN MU I 5, w F l M d A F v INVENTOR. CLlNToN A. LANGSTAFF ATTORNEYS Aug. 15, 1950 `c. A. LANGSTAFF FLGW BEAN Filed May 11, 1946 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.

- INVENTOR. CLINTON A. L ANGSTAFF d VD BY 7n Mmm,

ATTORNEYS C. A. LANGSTAFF FLOW BEAN Aug. 15, 195o 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed lay 11, 1946 INVENToR. CLINTON A. LANGSTAFF BY MMM ATTORNEYS highly abrasive characteristics.

Patented Aug. 15, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,518,625 FLow BEAN" Clinton A. Langstaif, Compton, Calif. Application May'il, 1946, Serial No. 669,020

1 claim. (ci. 137-153) l My present invention has to do with devicesfor and methods of controlling the fiow of oil wells, such devices being commonly `known in the art as iiow beans.".

In oil wells iiowing under the influence of natural gas pressure in the well, there are many characteristics to be met in controlling the flow.

An ideal well is one which does not flow sand and water along with the oil and which has a low proportion of gas to oil and the gas is evenly entrained in the oil. With proper beaning and proper adjustment of the tubing such a well flows in an even, smooth stream, without heading, and without dissipating too much gas in proportion to the oil iiow. There are also wells which flow bothsand and water along with the oil and gas and the flow is subject to heading and possesses wasteful of gas and causes uneven iiow, the well flowing a slug of oil one moment and free gas the next, with the result that the flow pressure builds up when the oil is flowing and falls when the gas is passing. The aim is to maintain the proper back pressure on the well and to streamline the Iiow passage so as to minimize turbuducing the size of the iiow orices when the iiow consists largely of gas and to enlarge the orifice when the'flow consists primarily of oil. However, such ow beans as are known have rather serious shortcomings. They are subject to rapid wear and it is diilicult or impossible to properly reset or refinish the valve to compensate for wear Without disturbing the desired streamlined ow conditions. Moreover, they are incapable of effecting a change in the orifice as quickly as is desirable vto maintain an even iiow. They are also difficult to calibrate particularly where conditions of wear are present and changes cannot be made without interrupting the desired even flow conditions.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a iiow bean 4which has a relatively long life even when subjected to the highly abrasive action of iiow containing sand.

The heading is 2 which compensation for wear may be eiected rapidly without impairing the eiciency of opera.- tion.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character in ,y which a complete closure of the valve can be made. for calibration purposes even after wear has taken place.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a flow bean device in which the size of the orifice is automatically changed in consonance with the iiow pressure of the well even under conditions tending to cause heading.

A further object is to provide a flow vcontrol device in which the orifice opening may be changed without impairing even iiow conditions.

Another object is to provide a novel method of controlling the flow of an oil well.

My invention possesses still furtherobjects and corresponding advantages which will become obvious from the following description of presently I preferred embodiments thereof, for which purpose I shall refer to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one embodiment of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a medial longitudinal section of Fig. 1:

Fig. 3 is a. view like Fig. 2 but showing the throat of the device completely closed;

Fig. 4 is a view of another embodiment of my invention including associated means for automatically controlling the iiow; and

Fig. 5 is a medial sectional view showing a further embodiment of my invention andv showing another associated means of eiecting automatic control.

I wish it understood, however, that in its broader aspects as defined by the accompanying claim, my invention is susceptible of various modifications and adaptations which vthe ensuing description will suggest to those familiar with this art.

In Figs. 1,.2` .and .3ly show an adaptation of my invention whichifs primarily 'suited t'wells flowing with lov'v' gas pressure` and Without headingthat is, whereinfthe purpose of the flow bean is simply to regulate fa relatively even natural flow.

Another object is vto provide a iiow bean in With the reference to those figures, the numeral 5 denotes a tubular casing exteriorly threaded at its inlet end, as shown at 6 for connection to an outlet from the well. In practice the inlet end of the casing is screwed onto an outlet pipe from the conventional Christmas tree" not shown, which latter is the name commonly applied in the oil producing industry to the pipe fitting and iiow line assembly at the top of an oil well. The

upper end of the casing is exteriorly threaded at 'I for connection to an outlet pipe.

Conined in the bore I8 in the casing by plugs I2, I5, there is a soft rubber or neoprene sleeve 20. Plug I2 is exteriorly threaded at I4, which threads mesh with internal threads in the inlet end oi the casing, and plug I5 has an annular upwardly facing shoulder I6 which abuts an annular shoulder Il in the upper end of the casing. Thus the parts may be installed in and removed from the casing by removing the plug I2.

The sleeve 20, in its normal cross section, has an axial opening which is substantially uniform in diameter at and adjacent its inlet end, as shown at 22, and ares outwardly at and adjacent its outlet end, as shown at 23. Since the bore 25 in plug I2 is conical or flared at its inlet end, the eiIect of the plug and the sleeve is to provide a Venturi throat. Conned between the ,annular flanges 21 and 28 of the sleeve there is a relatively rigid annular insert 36 which has a peripheral recess providing an annular chamber 82 exposed to the inner surface of the casing. This chamber communicates with the periphery of the sleeve 20 around the throat 22 through radial ports 35 in the insert.

A boss 40 is formed integral with the casing, the boss having a bore 42 providing a cylinder for a piston 44 having an externally threaded actuating rod 4,5 provided at its outer end with transverse holesY 46 to receive a turning tool not shown. The threads of the rod 45 engage with threads 41 in the bore. The bottom end of the bore 42 is closed by a threaded plug 48 having an opening 49 to threadedly receive a valve-controlled grease nozzle 50. Cylinder 42 communicates with the chamber 32 through a port 52.

For the purpose of providing a visual gauge to indicate the extent of opening or closing of throat 22, I provide a circumferential line 55 along the top end of the rod 45 and provide a scale 56 of calibrations on the periphery of the casing contiguous to the outer end of the piston rod, so

that as the rod is screwed inwardly and outwardly of the cylinder the scale will indicate the extent of constriction or expansion of the throat.

To calibrate the device, a grease gun is applied to the nozzle 58 and the piston rod is screwed down until the piston is in its innermost position in the cylinder or until the line 55 is opposite zero reading on the scale (Figs. 1 and 3). Then hydraulic fluid F is forced from the gun into the cylinder and chamber and between the insert and sleeve until the throat 22 is fully closed. Then the piston rod is screwed outwardly until the desired flow conditions are obtained, which point will be indicated by the position vof the line 55 with relation to the scale 56.

In Fig. 4 I show another embodiment of my invention which is capable of automatically effecting changes in the size of the iiow orice in response to changes in well pressure. Y

Here the casing and its carried parts are the same as before described and are given like reference numerals, except that the piston for forcing the hydraulic fluid against the periphery of the rubber sleeve is not used and the rubber sleeve is automatically actuated by gas pressure instead of the threaded piston rod before described.

Here the grease nozzle before described is removed and a conduit 10, leading from a scrubber 'I2 through pressure regulating valve 13, communicates with the pressure chamber 65. The scrubber is, of course, in communication with the 65. As is well known, a scrubber such as here described is a device for separating, the oil from the gas.

Thus a regulated amount of gas pressure is caused to act upon the rubber sleeve and due to the resilient nature of the gas, a reduction of the well pressure will allow the counter-acting gas pressure surrounding the rubber sleeve to expand and reduce the orifice opening and vice versawith the regulator, the gas pressure can be suitably proportioned to maintain the desired well pressure.

In the form of device shown in Fig. 5, the full amount of the well pressure is utilized in reverse manner as compared with the manner in which it is utilized in the device of Fig. 4 to actuateA the hydraulic fluid, so that increased well pressure acts to increase the size of the orifice.

Here again the casing 5 and its carried inner parts are as shown in Figs. 1-3 and are given like numerals, except that the boss 40h has a cylindrical extension 88 within the bore of which is reciprocally mounted a plunger 82, the plunger being adapted during reciprocation to move into the cylinder below the piston 44a. Here the piston 44a and its actuating rod 45a are merely for the purpose of setting the device in relation to a given amount of hydraulic fluid in the system. A diaphragm casing generally denoted 85 is composedof two concaved plates 86, 81 secured together along their marginal portions by bolts 89. This casing houses a diaphragm 80, the edge of the diaphragm being confined between the marginal portions of the plates. Plate 86 has a tubular neck registering with and secured to the boss extension 80 by means of a threaded collar 92, the plunger 82 extending through the bore of the neck.

The inner end of the plunger 82 isssecured to the central portion of the diaphragm by the nut and washer assembly 84. A compression spring 95 bears at oneend against the right-hand end of the plunger 82 and bears at its other end against a screw plug 86 threadedly mounted in plate 81. The tension of the spring may be adjusted by the plug 96 to regulate and maintain the desired well L pressure.

The plate 88 and the contiguous surface of the diaphragm define a pressure chamber 81 which is exposed to the well pressure through a conduit 98 communicating with the well through the conventional Christmas tree unit.

Thus it will be observed that as the well pressure rises, the plunger 82 is moved outwardly of chamber 41a. thus reducing the pressure on the hydraulic fluid and thus also reducing the constricting pressure about the throat 22, allowing the sleeve to expand and open the throat. Conversely, decrease in well pressure allows the Spring to move the plunger inwardly of the chamber to increase the pressure on the hydraulic uid and to consequently constrict the throat 22.

The dierence between Figs. 4 and 5 is that the device of Fig. 4 is only semi-automatic as only the resilience of the gas pressure is Ibeing used and only pressures equal to or less than the well pressure can be caused to act against the rubber sleeve.

The device of Fig. 5 acts directly from the well pressure fluctuations and is fully automatic. Also through the spring 95 pressures greater than 5 the well pressure can be caused to act against the rubber sleeve.

I claim:

A ow bean for an oil well comprising a casing having a longitudinal bore adapted for connection at its inlet end to a well, a flexible sleeve mounted axially in the casing and defining 'a fluid` passageway therethrough, and means forvarying the cross-sectional area. of the passage- Way in response to fluid pressure inthe well, comprising a cylinder adapted to contain hydraulic uid, a. plunger mounted to reciprocate in the cylinder, a diaphragm housing, a diaphragm in the housing and defining therewith a iluid chamber, means operatively connecting the diaphragm to the plunger, spring means normally urging the plunger in one direction in relation to the cylinder, con duit means for exposing the chamber to fluid pressure in the Well to move the plunger in the opposite direction against the pressure of said spring, and piston means threaded into the cylinder, said piston means being operable in response to rotary movement thereof to vary the capacity of the cylinder. l

CLINTON A. LANGSTAFF.

REFERENCES CITED The following' references areof record inthe le of this patent:.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

